The Request
by Schrulle01
Summary: The Warden Commander Neria Surana comes with a request to Kirkwall. She seeks help.
1. Chapter 1

It wasn't blasphemy to sit in front of a chantry brother with only a sheet tucked onto your front and your shirt somewhere in the room. In that case the warden commander had no other choice. To be true Sebastian only faced her back and he didn't aks why an elf came here. He suspected that she just wanted to seek shelter but something about her was amiss. She didn't act like a normal elf from the Kirkwall Alienage for they usually never leave the Alienage all along. if he had known she was the Warden Commander he wouldn't do this but she sounded so familiar, well with her accent she certainly came from Starkhaven. Although she claimed to be Ferledan by heart. It was another question Sebastian didn't dare to keep track on.

At that moment he only concentrates on her back, a sheet of paper was laying beside him showing some kind of symbols. She told him that she needed them on her back and that she couldn't go to anyone else. He could have sent her to Hawke or to another Chantry sister but she was determined that he should to it, t wasn't really hard to draw some symbols on someones back. He was also thankful for the bedsheet she tucked in front of her.

As Sebastian sit there and trying so hard not to make anything wrong he had time to observe the elf in front of him. She had bright red hair, blue eyes and very pale skin tone. Her hair was hold together in two short ponytails if he wasn't a brother of the faith he would do things to her…abruptly he shook his head, sending little prayers to the Maker and his Bride.

"I hope the Maker doesn't see this as a sin…" she murmured and only heard Sebastian chuckle behind her. He doubt the Maker would see it as a sin when he helped others in dire need. Well not in dire need but it was need after all.

"No I think He can forgive me."

With that Sebastian dipped the brush into the black coulor and started a new symbol on her back. It was very soothing to find someone with a steady hand. Her Grey Warden brother couldn't do that and she certainly would never ask Oghren to make this symbols. So she came to Kirkwall or was here by chance.

She also tried to avoid almost anyone…well in fact she doesn't want to know anyone here. This city leaves a bad taste in her mouth and with her being a mage it could be worse. Although no one was trying to take her which surprised her far less as she found out that Cullen was Knight-Captain here. Maybe he told them to stay away from her.

Neria was so deep in thoughts that she didn't even recognize it when her 'faithful' chantry nuzzled the crook of her neck which brought her right back in the room. This was really strange why would he do that?

"What are you…doing?" Neria asked cautiously to remind him what he was or what he was doing. Instead of an answer she got feather light kisses on her neck and her left shoulder and a hand which came very close to her breasts but before he could touch her the door sprang open.

"Choirboy! Hawke needs you to come with us. It has something to do with the Vicount-" Varric abruptly stopped when he saw the scene and let out a chuckle. He retreated very slowly, this would be an interesting story.

"Varric! Don't! Don't make a story out of this!" But the dwarf was gone and probably telling stories in any second.

"Don't fret, the Warden Commander gets many stories this time of year.." Neria said with a smile and placed her lips against his own. The face he made was just priceless.


	2. Chapter 2

As she parted from him to end the short kiss, he just stared at her unable to say something and totally forgetting about Varric. She knew he was angry or merely surprised. Everyone got angry after they find out she was the Warden Commander. It was not like she told everybody about it and since no one outside of Ferleden would believe an elven mage was Commander of a secret order. It was easier to get by. Only other Grey Wardens and authorities knew about her plainly Templars.

"You…you are the Warden Commander? Don't tell me you are the Hero of Ferelden as well." He didn't know what to say and he realized what he just had done before Varric came in. "Oh I'm so sorry…I didn't mean to…I'm a holy brother of the chantry…I shouldn't have done that."

Neria only held up her hand to quieten him. She took no offense in what he had done, she could have stopped him if he would went too far. She only tucked the bedsheet closer around her body and turned around to face him. "Well I am in fact the Hero of Ferelden. I know…i should be in the Deep Roads doing Grey Warden stuff and such things. But i am so tired…I don't want it anymore. The other Wardens, they don't listen to an elf less than a mage. They fight and kill, they wouldn't listen to my plans. So I travel to other lands, places where someone would not recognise me." It was going really well so far…well she messed it up by saying she was the Warden Commander. But he was a brother of the Chantry, may be he wouldn't tell anyone about it.

Sebastian was still unsure what to say, she doesn't really look like a Warden. Well Anders doesn't look like a Warden too. But what plans did she have. He was also sure that Varric or Hawke would come soon to look for him. "Well…what plans or are these Grey Warden secrets? Look…the one who came in here before…a friend wants to see me. You can come with us. You'll be save." He wanted her to stop worrying about something and maybe Hawke could help her, Hawke always knew a way out. Neria just nodded and pulled away from him to get the shirt from the floor. As she put on her light blue and silver robes, she put on a cloak as well. Sebastian recognized that she didn't use a staff. "Didn't you say you are a mage? Why don't you have a weapon."

The answer came a few minutes later when she buckled up a sword on her back. "This is my weapon. It's more useful and I can still use magic abilities. No one would believe someone with a sword to be a mage." She didn't learn this in the Circle Tower, it was the one time in the Brecilian Forest…Arcane Warrior. "Well let's go to your friends…" Sebastian pushed open the door as well after he put his armor on.

Hawke, Varric, Anders and Fenris were still waiting and two of them were quite curious about that girl in Choirboy's room. "I told you…she had nothing but a blanket…no joking." Sebastian could hear Varric's voice ringing across the Chantry's halls. This mass needed to be fixed and quickly. As the two of them approach the group, Neria felt silent…not because of the awkward situation more likely because of Anders. She hadn't seen him in years but she would still recognize him.

Neria completely ignored the others and went straight to him, he was always her best friend not the one she knew the longest but the one she could tell her secrets to. "Anders…" Neria only muttered as she hugged him tightly. The healer was a little bit surprised since Neria was normally a bit insecure about huggings and personal stuff. She could be witty and everything but in the same time she just became the shyest person in town.

"I thought…they said you died…they said they killed you…how…why are you here?" Neria couldn't stop checking up on him, she looked for injuries for something…but it seems either he survived or the others were lying. "I'm fine…Commander. I have a question for you too? Why are you here?" Neria took a deep breath before she let go of Anders and took a view steps back. "I'm…I couldn't take the Wardens any longer…they seperated me from everyone. They said my plan is insane, but it would help…why does no one listen to me. The Architect is right…."


	3. Chapter 3

It took them all a moment to recognize what this little elf was saying about some one called the Architect. In fact only Anders knew who she meant. It wasn't some guy who builds something. It was a darkspawn emissary. A very powerful and persuasive emissary. He grabbed Neria by her shoulders and look down on her. "He is not right. Don't listen to him. Yes he may have helped us before against the Mother…but he is dangerous."

Neria just shook him off and took a step back. "Believe me I noticed. But…he hasn't tried to kill us. He had every chance to get rid of some Grey Wardens. He helped us." Before she could get any further Varric stepped up and looked between Anders and Neria. "Could someone please tell us what's going on. Who or what is the Architect."

Neria looked at the dwarf in front of her. He was different from any dwarf she had ever seen. Maybe it was the lack of face hair. "A darkspawn emissary. I- we met him and he helped us to defeat the mother." It may have looked a bit suspicious to trust a darkspawn but she didn't trust him. Neria would kill him if he tried something that would harm her or her friends and the Architect knew it. The Warden Commander could see the frown in many faces.

"So we should trust you because you trust a darkspawn. I highly doubt this darkspawn makes enlightened conversations." She didn't know his name but he was also an elf like her but something was different about him. The way he looked at her. Like she was mad. Neria didn't care everyone was looking at her that way nowadays.

"He talks. He is something you call an awaken darkspawn."

"Like Corypheus…" Hawke mentioned. "This emissary is like Corypheus. An ancient magister." After a moment Neria nodded but she was not sure if the Architect was an ancient magister. But there was no time to discuss this, she needed to be somewhere else. There was a reason she came here of all places to seek people who can fight and who can help her.

"I don't know for sure…but maybe you are right. I need your help…Please, there is no time. You must come with me." This may have been a bit strange for she didn't really know them but she needed there help. They are perfect for that mission. Neria looked around to look for something in their faces.

Fenris just snorted and looked at her with more disbelieve than before. "Like we should trust you, mage?! This could be a trap and you are leading us right into it." Now Neria knew what his problem was, the way he said mage was more like an insult. She was impressed how fast he had found out about this - for a non-mage.

"I am not leading you into a trap! Why should I come here to the Chantry! I…There is someone who can explain it better and you can trust him or not. But I need you to come with me. You don't need to trust me…just come with me." As a mage it was nothing new to be insulted and Neria was the Warden Commander. There was much more a stake than a simple trap.

After what seemed like an awful lot of time Hawke finally agreed to it. Followed by Anders, Varric, Sebastian and finally Fenris. She would thank them all later, now they needed to go. They needed to get to the lost city before the next day, he would be waiting for them. Neria told them to get some stuff for their journey and that they should meet within an hour in front of the Chantry.

As she waited with Sebastian, who had his stuff in the Chantry, she put on her black cloak. "Where are we going now?" he asked after a while and nearly startled Neria. She was so deep in thoughts about this thing and it was the only thing Neria could do to stop the sounds from getting louder. "The Lost City."


	4. Chapter 4

The time passed faster than Neria could have anticipated, she was never a friend of time or being under big stress. Not after the Blight and a whole world at stake. But this time they need to hurry since Neria should be meeting with someone before the next day comes. It was really hard to keep track of him and he didn't like it when someone shows up late. So after an hour everyone was back at their meeting point and everyone had enough poitions and healing salves with them. Even if they ran out of it, she and Anders were Spirit Healers and capable of creating new potions if they find any ingredients. Which was a topic they could think about later now they had to reach the Lost City.

Once everyone has arrived, Neria stepped forward and looked at her merry entourage. She really had a thing for strange people, not that Anders,Hawke and Sebastian looked strange, they were perfectly normal. But this Fenris guy was really strange and he doesn't like mages - lovely. Neria didn't have the time to discuss wether he likes mages or not. However as everyone looked at her as she cleared her throat, Neria began to talk.

"First of all thank you for coming with me, I couldn't do this alone. As a matter of fact I really couldn't do this alone. The first thing we need to do is reaching the Lost City, It's not far from here but we need to hurry."

She could explain everything on the way if someone had a question about their destination. They didn't really have much time and no one had ever seen Neria in such a hurry. Normaly should make sure if everyone was fine and ready, but now it was different she wanted to get out of Kirkwall. Maybe it was also the city and the behaviour of some citizens. It didn't matter now.

A few moments later they had left the city behind, more like they had passed an outlet and were now walking on a landscape near Kirkwall. The fresh air was really relieving for the Warden Commander, it made her head a bit clearer. The sound in her head was not going away but she had time think about everything. It was getting harder to think about a world shattering even when you have darkspawn chanting in your mind every time.

As they were pass the city and in the open a bit more, Neria turned her gaze towards Anders. "Before I forget it...I have something you might want to have back." Anders gave her a curious look as she put her hand in the back hanging from her shoulders to pull out a certain tabby cat. "You might want to have him back." After she learnt what happened with Anders and Ser-Pounce-A-Lot, she got the cat from the certain warden and kept it with her all the time.

"Pounce! You got him. It's been so long..." She knew he loves cats and especially Pounce. It was her choice to give him Pounce back, since he needed some miracle in his life. It was hard to keep the cat from running away, since it was not an everday life to have a cat with you. "I'm glad I can make you at least a bit happy. Not I don't mind you being grumpy, but happy is better." At least one can be happy this time. Before Neria could walk away from Anders he stopped her. She hasn't told them anything about the mission or where they were going. As Neria looked around to see everyone standing around and not going forward. "Why are you stopping. We need to move. Or at least move a bit faster a little bit."

"We want to know where we are going? What is the Lost City and do we meet someone there?" The question came from Hawke himself, they were quiet curious or suspicious, Neria couldn't tell by now. There was no excuse why she couldn't tell them the whole mission or at least the worst part. The Warden Commander just sighed and turned towards everyone as good as she could. It was hard to explain where they were going, they needed to believe it.

"We will meet someone. He can guide as through the city without getting lost. The name is accurate, you get lost in the Lost City and then you become insane. So he can help us. You don't need to rely your life on him just follow him."

Fenris snorted again and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Maybe it was hard to explain to trust someone they've never met, but he was good and when he had the money he was better. Neria and their secret guide had some mutual deal.

"Who are we going to meet there? I mean does he have a name?"

The elven mage just nodded and turned around facing the rather pretty landscape. For a few seconds there was silent until Neria said the name: "The Dark Wolf."


End file.
